anCnoc - distilled at the Knockdhu Distillery - is a brand that has won many friends in recent years with its elegant, well made, and delicately flavoured whiskies. One thing it isn’t known for is rich, peated whisky. But that is about to change with the release of three, limited edition, peated expressions.

Here at Whisky Marketplace we’re fans of good graphic design and we’re always struck by the beauty of anCnoc’s packaging. These expressions are no exception. Each carries an illustration of, and is named after, a traditional peat cutting tool.

Those of you keeping a close eye on the Irish whiskey scene may have spotted “The Irishman” brand. A relative newcomer, it’s been highly rated at various international awards and by whiskey critics such as Jim Murray. Unfortunately, so far, it’s been fairly hard to come by outside of Ireland.

Here at Whisky Marketplace there’s nothing we like more than an educational whisky product because, let’s face it, whisky appreciation is a voyage of discovery. Every whisky we taste teaches us a little more about the magic of the cask, or the still, or the mash, or the type of oak... you get the picture. Unsurprisingly this new release from Box, one of Sweden’s newest distilleries and a very stylish looking player on the world whisky scene, caught our eye.

Waiting for a flight to board can be seriously tedious business so browsing the duty free shop for fine spirits is often a welcomed distraction. Its made all the more interesting (for us whisky geeks) when you come across something that's exclusive to travel retail. At the very least, if these off piste whiskies don't tickle your fancy, you'll be impressed by the manliness of the 1 litre bottles.

Highland Park have announced a new range of whiskies entitled 'The Warrior Series' which draw on the Orkney distillery's strong Norse heritage. They’ve named each of the bottlings after infamous Viking Earls who once presided over the remote islands. The first three in the series being Svein, Einar and the notorious Harald retailing at €40, €53 and €75 respectively.

Hello readers, you may have noticed that things have been a little quieter than normal over here, that's because we're in the process of moving our blog within the Whisky Marketplace site!

For various technical reasons (which we're not going to bore you with) we needed to relocate the blog; and so it now lives in the /journal folder. If you are one of the fab people who link to us from your own blog it would be really great if you could update the url.

The ever-innovative folks at Master of Malt have announced details of a new Blended Whisky, conceived in conjunction with Athlete bassist and long time whisky lover Carey Willets, in celebration of his side-project ‘Boxes’.

Mr Willets’ introduction to Master of Malt and involvment in the whisky world may be relatively recent, but whisky itself has been a long running passion for the bassist. “Whisky’s always been a big part of my musical history—they both enhance each other. Enjoying whisky and music together is a life-affirming experience.”

Glenmorangie announces Ealanta, its fourth annual “Private Edition” release. A 19 year old single malt exclusively matured in virgin American Oak casks.

Given the nature of this maturation, it’s hardly surprising that the whisky is said to display notes of butterscotch, vanilla, toffee and indeed a characteristic note of menthol, often found when fresh oak is employed.

Contributors

Pierre Thiébaut

The one on the videos - Pierre is the presenter of our podcast WMTV and co-founder of Whisky Marketplace and Connosr. He has honed his nosing and tasting skills over many years and swears that it's the secret to eternal youth. Only time will tell.

Jean-Luc Thiébaut

The techie one - Jean-Luc is geeky about whisky and digital stuff in equal measures. He created Whisky Marketplace and Connosr with his own fair hands. Often found coding by candlelight.

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The prices displayed in these search results are indicative and may be subject to change. Please check the whisky retailers' website before completing your purchase. Whisky prices include VAT or Sales Tax but don't include shipping costs. You order may be subject to import duty.